Books for Egypt?

Not that sure Egypt has a shortage of books. But if so, I would be glad to help out in my small way.

Anything will help.

Now we need to support Egyptian secularists, liberals, moderate Islamists, Christians .... everyone except for the really extreme Islamists.

Books are a great idea. The Obama regime should institute a system of student exchanges -- bring a million Egyptian college and high school students to the US for a year to improve their English, and send as many of our kids as want to go, over there. Do it on a shoestring, with homestays. (If they would want to come.)

Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive ....

> 3
If we find such a school or center, I would be happy to donate.
Books are the (our) LT thing to do!
(The only Egyptian I know distantly, a very friendly elderly man, has dissapeared. I suppose he went to Egypt to witness that dawn...)

That was me on Twitter, and I see someone else suggested the Biblioteca Alexandria as well.

I'm in to help however I can, but I don't have any other libraries to suggest.

1) Giving people books is always cool.

2) I'm thinking cold cash would be even better, so they can choose for themselves--perhaps from the bookstores which, contrary to the impression one could get in this thread, do exist in Egypt. And sell books in more than one language--which usually, in fact, ISN'T English.

3) I'm hoping no one will go too heavy on "democracy-teaching" material, especially from the US corner. Lots of irony in giving these lessons by the most apathetic electorate in the developed world, and one which in recent history suffered through TWO stolen president-ships, to people who actually have some notion of direct democracy. :)

Along the lines of #7 above, what about getting in touch with something like the huge annual Cairo Book Fair, or with groups like Hands Along the Nile, in order to consult with local people and groups, and learn what (if anything) is needed?

7: 3) I'm hoping no one will go too heavy on "democracy-teaching" material, especially from the US corner. Lots of irony in giving these lessons by the most apathetic electorate in the developed world, and one which in recent history suffered through TWO stolen president-ships, to people who actually have some notion of direct democracy. :)

I won't disagree that sending our version of republicanism to them is presumptuous (when will we learn?), but we didn't recently have stolen president-ships. We do not have direct democracies on the executive level. If you think the Electoral College picking someone different than the people is something new....

But, again, I'm for the country not getting involved, though I suspect they will not be able to resist.

As for the books, pardon my ignorance, how many Egyptians speak English? Is it an upper-class luxury? Would sending books in English do anything to help the common person?

#11

Yeah, bullshit.

Yeah, you wish it were. But I won't link-fight you on this. The idea that Dumbya deserved fair and square to be POTUS (twice no less) actually fits my dismal view of American politics and polity better.

#10

Would sending books in English do anything to help the common person?

Good question. When I was in Egypt, 1981-1982, francophone bookstores outnumbered Anglo ones by--six to one? Ten to one? I visited eight in Cairo alone. But it's never to early to start spreading the gospel, so to speak, eh?

francophone bookstores outnumbered Anglo ones by--six to one? Ten to one? I visited eight in Cairo alone.

A copy of Camus' The Stranger in the nightstand of every hotel?

#13

Lol! Make sure to send them some blonde joke books, Jesse. One can never have enough of American charm. :)

I'd assume that they're already familiar with Mahfouz and Qutb.

This here dumb, apathetic American pledges to donate 50 books of literature to Egypt, including some extra copies of The Brothers Karamazov I have. I challenge other dumb, apathethic LT Americans to do likewise. Just tell me where to ship them.

Me too. I lived in Egypt for years and I loved the Cairo book fair.

I think it's a great idea & books in any language will probably be welcome. I'm sure there are Egyptians who are trying to learn to speak English as well as Egyptians who are trying to learn French or Spanish. Being multilingual is a huge asset, and if books are scarce, then of course it is harder for a poor person to become multilingual than a wealthy person. Sending books over would be a good way to make language skills more accessible.

Well said, Tim.

You do have people on board here. I want to help (and help promote) your cause -- Books for Egypt -- and a few others believe, sounds like, that it's a great (and I'll say, naysayers be damned, noble) idea of yours. I'm on board.

How can we help? I've been sifting through books this evening. I want to send them somewhere. And while I absolutely love certain said snide and sniping snarkers (in this instance) who've snidely snarked in this thread, you've nevertheless got people on board with you. What do we need to do for you to help turn this idea into reality?

Some people are disillusioned that they can help change the world. But we can help change the world; if not one person at a time, then one book at a time, that I'm convinced will find the right person's hands in Egypt.

I would still need to know what percentage of Egyptians speak English as to know whether donating books would be more effective there or at a local charity. The only Arabic book widely available here is the Quran, and I doubt there is a shortage of them overseas.

Cairo's Nile FM, 104.2 obviously supports a large contingent of English language users.

My Bibliotheca Alexandrina contacts have all left. I wrote someone at IFLA.

I'm in as soon as there's some place to send the books (or cash).

Me too. I thought this "Taxi of Knowledge" program sounded interesting -- if donation to a library or school isn't possible (or necessary), maybe something like this would be an option. (?)

Anyway, if we're going to have people sniping against the idea on some vague, conspiratorial grounds that sending books is a form of political domination, fuck it.

No, in your case, I don't think the problem is so much hankering after political domination, as your usual superior Yank-Man blind condescension. You know, the stuff I always accuse you of. :) From the OP:

"It's a good time to think about what tolerant democracies need. One answer is: books."

You make it sound as if "books" are an entity unknown in Egypt, and you make it sound as if you, the big bwana sahib, are magnanimously rewarding these new "discoverers" of democracy, when your own country has supported the regime (not to mention other cases) for decades. Besides, last I heard, you personally still see nothing wrong in the idea of spreading democracy in Iraq through invasion. So, yeah. I'm concerned about the message framing your philanthropy, and its tone.

Granted, your timing makes it difficult NOT to construe it as a "reward". I only wish this idea was floated a bit earlier, in the intolerant non-democracy phase. (How about starting a book drive for some of those? Algeria? Syria?)

I'll happily send books to whoever wants them, but not in a package with Western supremacist or patronising overtones. Just sayin'.

Btw, I wanted to do something along these lines (send English-language books where they don't abound), albeit much smaller (me being just one individual), hoping to use the structure of BookMooch, but the assheads who run it wouldn't listen. Ask me what and how. It would be cool if LibraryThing had a mechanism such as I envisaged.

#26

Thanks for the link.

Another way to do some favours to Egyptians is to buy FROM Egypt. There's stores online, including bookstores.

I'm definitely in! Just... will probably need a little guidance about the types of books. What sort of books, what genres, what authors, etc, would be best to send to Egypt? I have no clue.

Looking round my collection, I think a cash donation might be better - I don't actually own too many books, and they're mostly either gifts that I want to keep, or not really useful to your average Egyptian.

Random thought: the BA charges an admission fee, if I remember right. It seems like that would be a significant barrier to learning, for poorer Alexandrians. Maybe we could make a donation to subsidise access? though I note Tim's good points in his last paragraph

I'm happy to send some along. Let us know whether they want kids books or adult, and whether there are subject area preferences, and whether some things are not desired (e.g., textbooks, romance novels, etc.)

#29

People from Algeria, Egypt, Bhutan are members of BookMooch, for instance, and they have requested and sent books from these fearful places. Sure, maybe they are all policemen in disguise, including the girl-impersonator to whom I've sent Anne Rice and Peanuts.

Yeah, there is mail censorship in the Middle East. So what? Some of us have been communicating through the mail with people there for decades nevertheless.

Do you seriously think whatever you send won't need to be "vetted" in any case? And not only from the recipient's side?

I've been to Syria. It is a dreadfully repressive police state.

(There is at least one obvious retort to this--so obvious I won't bother to type it out. Sorry, news-challenged bystanders.)

Well... yeah. So? There's people living, loving, working, studying even there.

Why not ask whether the anglophone Damascus Community School wouldn't like some books?

Don't demonise the repressive police states, many have served the US well and still do (besides, Arabs are proud and as fiercely nationalistic as Americans, even in opposition). Meanwhile, their people are no less in need of such help as one may be permitted to give them, so why not give it--try at least.

If other members want to take this up, go for it. I'm too close to the issue and don't have the patience and serenity to deal with the arguments here constructively.

Getting away from the negativity, and Egypt as well, but back to donating books to places in need...

How about a campaign for Books for Africa, a legitimate charity that would select appropriate books and make sure they get to where they are needed? I linked to the Honor a Friend section, since presumably we could set up a campaign and ask people to donate in honor of LibraryThing, so that then we could possibly ask how much we raised at the end.

Yank-Man?

> 35: I'm sad you said that, and that you felt it necessary to delete (some of) your earlier messages. I agree with some of the posters that this could - potentially - be a very sensitive issue : if we started sending them political or religious propaganda material. But surely that's not at stake here.

Anyway, either way, I don't feel competent to take this up. But I will support.

#38

What did he say?

See # 35. Aparently he got discouraged / fed up.

I don't suppose LT could manage a presence at the Tahrir Square Book Fair.

Wow, the fair is an awesome idea!